The present invention relates generally to portable furniture used in recreational activities, and more particularly to camping chairs.
Reclining chairs provide a restful opportunity for the user to xe2x80x9cput their feet upxe2x80x9d at the end of a long work day without the necessity of providing a foot stool, or other prop which may take up floor space unnecessarily when not in use. By having a foot rest built into the chair, the amount of discrete pieces of furniture in a room may be reduced.
Users may wish to enjoy the comforts of a reclining chair in an outdoor setting, perhaps on a back porch, or by a pool. As traditional reclining chairs are generally too heavy for easy portability, there have been certain types of folding chairs developed which may include foot rests. Some of these may fold down flat, with a hinged portion which allows a back portion to be inclined, perhaps at a variety of angles. One familiar style was the xe2x80x9cdeck chairxe2x80x9d covered with either a canvas or plastic mesh surface and with a frame structure including notches on the backs of the rear legs into which a cross-bar may fit to retain a certain inclination angle.
This type of structure has the disadvantage that the cross-bar may become dislodged from the notches, in which case the back may fall unimpeded to the horizontal position, startling or even injuring the user. The older style of deck chair is also well-known for having the components tangle together when collapsed or in the process of being constructed.
Other styles of reclining chairs may include various locking mechanisms, such as spring-loaded pins that engage holes in the chair frame, or locking knobs that screw down to fix moveable elements in place. There may be problems with these types of locking mechanisms. These chairs, being designed to be portable, naturally attempt to minimize weight by using hollow tubing of lightweight materials, such as aluminum, as the frame structure. When holes are made in this material, the structural strength of these members can be compromised. Additionally, the holes in the members may be subject to tearing out, as these lightweight materials generally do not have great sheer strength. Under repeated stress, the locking pins can perhaps be forced out of the holes, causing the frame to be additionally weakened, and perhaps allowing the chair to fall freely to its horizontal position.
Locking knobs which operate by forcing a screw to tighten on a hollow frame member, can also cause the frame member to flatten or even collapse, again causing the back to be suddenly unsupported.
There have been several attempts to make reclining folding chairs. U.S. Pat. No. 2,467,909 to Rechler discloses a folding chair that moves from a upright position to a reclining position. The arm support includes pivotal links which allow the arm and its attached back support members to tilt. The chair as a whole folds into a flat configuration, which may be a bit tedious to expand if the links fall into the wrong orientation while the user attempts to straighten the legs.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,015,335 to Blumenthal shows an adjustable chair, which appears bulky and awkward to assemble.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,068 to Levine discloses a folding chair apparatus with a sliding/locking mechanism by which the angular positioning of the back can be varied. However, this locking mechanism has the same disadvantages of wear on the frame members and danger of slippage discussed above.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,324 to Harada shows a reclining chair with a complicated locking mechanism where the diameter of an inner tube is changed inside a second tube to act as a position lock. Once again, the opportunity for device wear makes the locking of position somewhat uncertain. The same can be said of U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,107 to Sato, which also discloses a relatively complex cam mechanism which is used as a locking brake.
Thus, there is a need for a portable reclining chair that can securely retain either an upright or reclining position without the need for locking devices, is lightweight enough to be easily portable, and which easily and quickly collapses to a very compact configuration.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a chair that easily and quickly adjusts from an upright position to a reclining position.
Another object of the invention is to provide a chair that securely remains in either an upright or a reclining position.
And another object of the invention is to provide a chair that remains in either position without a locking mechanism.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a chair which expands or collapses quickly.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a chair which expands from or contracts towards a central point or area as a whole, and thus requires minimal assembly.
An additional object is to provide a collapsible reclining chair that has few loose parts that can be misplaced.
Briefly, one preferred embodiment of the present invention is a collapsible reclining chair, having a frame assembly which includes a number of angled frame members, the upper ends of the angled frame members being pivotally attached to upper connectors, and the lower ends being pivotally attached to feet. The frame assembly as a whole expands outwardly from a central area. The frame assembly also includes upright members, and a support surface, having a back portion. The lower ends of each of the upright members are attached to one of the angled members by a reversible joint, so that the reclining chair is movable from an upright position when the reversible joints are in a first position, to a reclining position when the reversible joints have been reversed to a second position.
In a first embodiment, the reversible joint includes a pivot housing having first and second pivots. The lower end of one of the upright members is pivotally attached to the first pivot of the pivot housing, the second pivot of the pivot housing is pivotally attached to one of the angled frame members.
In a second embodiment, the reversible joints include an extension member having first and second ends and a sleeve housing attached to one of the angled members, and having a sleeve pivot, and a pivot housing having first and second pivots. The lower end of one of the upright members is pivotally attached to the first pivot of the pivot housing, the first end of the extension member is pivotally attached to the second pivot of the pivot housing, and the second end of the extension member is pivotally attached to the sleeve pivot of the sleeve housing.
A third embodiment has a modified reversible joint and no footrest.
An advantage of the present invention is that completion of movement from an upright to reclining position, or vice-versa, is aided by gravity.
Another advantage of the invention is that retention of the chair in either upright or reclined position is aided by gravity.
And another advantage of the invention is that no external locking mechanism is required to maintain the chair in position, and when loaded by the weight of an occupant, retention of the position is aided.
A further advantage of the invention is that it is simple to manufacture, and collapses to a compact shape for shipping or storage.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become clear to those skilled in the art in view of the description of the best presently known mode of carrying out the invention and the industrial applicability of the preferred embodiment as described herein and as illustrated in the several figures of the drawings.